KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 – Malaysians are more optimistic than the rest of the world on their prospects for 2025, with 81 per cent of local respondents telling pollster Ipsos they believed the new year would bring them improvement compared to 71 per cent globally.

In its "Global Predictions for 2025” survey findings, Ipsos noted that Malaysians’ optimism was high even though it rose less than the global average.

"About eight out of 10 Malaysians expect 2025 will be a better year and the global economy will be stronger. Additionally, Malaysians display a positive outlook about Artificial Intelligence’s (AI) potential to create new jobs, exceeding the global average.

"Looking ahead, 2025 presents both opportunities and challenges for Malaysians,” said Ipsos Malaysia interim country manager Evelyn Tan in the press release.

In the same poll, 55 per cent of Malaysians said 2024 was a bad year for the nation, down from 59 per cent in 2023.

"Globally, 65 per cent say that 2024 was a bad year. South Korea was the worst, with 8 out of 10 reporting that the year was bad.

"Malaysians rated below the global average,” Ipsos said.

Further, almost two-thirds of Malaysians were also confident that artificial intelligence create new jobs in the country.

In contrast, globally, at 77 per cent, China was most confident in AI job creation.

"Malaysians are also expecting higher inflation and taxes. This indicates a feeling of uncertainty about the economy and public health among the people,” Tan said.

The study found that in 2024, 80 per cent of Malaysians anticipated that taxes would increase in 2025, up from 74 per cent in 2023.

Expectations of higher inflation also rose to 76 per cent in the latest survey, up from 70 per cent before.

Ipsos gathered data from 23,721 adults under the age of 75 across 33 countries, and conducted interviews from 25 October 2024 until 8 November 2024.